u have gone thru about the placements of lighting for portraits and its satisfaction to the clients....we have already discussed ''available light source'' somewhere else......we are in the STUDIO AND CLIENTS vary according to age, height, mood, physique, etc. ....and it is the duty of a pro/studio owner, to satisfy his customers......let us see how lighting works in different distances.

THE importance OF THE SIZE OF THE LIGHT SOURCE and the distance from the subject cannot be emphasised more strongly. .....the larger the light source and greater its distance from the subject, the softer quality of light obtained is less contrasty, because the rate of the light fall-off at a greater distance is much less than at shorter distances due to one of the major laws of the optics.....THE INVERSE SQUARE LAW......which states that the intensity of light is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. hence, light falling on a subject from a light source two feet away will be four times as bright as when it is placed four feet away.

MOST photographers including some pros., however, do not understand this. they believe that larger the light source for instance, a larger soft box, and closure it is to the subject, softer will be the quality of light......it is not really so....what really happens is the sheer size of the light source at such close proximity simply smothers the subject from all directions, thus making the face flat and featureless. .......sometimes this effect works as an advantage for certain situations in fashion and beauty photography. and perhaps a good makeup artist accentuates the features which are likely to get lost with this kind of lighting.........to continue......gshroti@in.com.....